Author: Tammy Litke

As you can tell it’s the beginning of holiday gift ideas on our blog!  In our home technology is big on the wish lists.  Between hand held video game consoles, smart phones and/or tablets, there’s always one of us playing a game, listenting to music or watching movies.  Good sound is important to maximize the enjoyment of all those activities and a great way to get great sound in a personal package is with SOL REPUBLIC RELAYS In-ear 3-Button Headphones.

Nudo Italia, is an artisanal company, that gives you a taste of the Mediterranean with unique flavors of olive oils.

Nudo Italia sent me a couple of their flavor varieties to try in our home.  It was interesting to try something different while cooking and baking.  I was able to incorporate both the Rosmarino (Extra Virgin Olive Oil Stone Ground with Rosemary) and the Al Caffè (Extra Virgin Olive Oil Stone Ground with Coffee Beans).

I have a confession to make.  The only blender I’ve ever had in my home has been a cheap $15 one that we actually picked up to do a homeschool science experiment a number of years ago.  I never really felt that I needed one before, until I started making smoothies, iced coffee drinks, shakes and the like.  Only to find out that cheap blenders just don’t do well with the cups of ice.  At least not in a short amount of time and not without that smell of thinking that the motor is going to burn up on you. 

Last year we visited the Texas Renaissance Festival for the first time.  Our daughter quickly found everything and anything pertaining to Hyrule and world of The Legend of Zelda.  She beelined to any and every ocarina kiosk she saw.

I’m not entirely sure I would have appreciated her learning to play, but now that she’s at college… 😉

Much to my (and probably hers when she finds out) delight, I was approached to include the STL Ocarina Necklaces as a gift feature this year on my blog.

Everyone that has me on a Christmas List knows that they can get me coffee and I’ll be a happy girl.  If I received a bag of coffee and I know that someone else was given an even greater gift because of it…now that would be even better.  World Vision gives you the chance to do just that with your Christmas gifts this year.  More than 250 items, ranging in price from $10 to $39,000, are available online and in the print catalog to help improve quality of life for women, children and families in the U.S. and around the world.

I’m beginning to feel the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  My daughter has presented us her Holiday Wish List – a PS Vita being at the top of it, and I’m already making space in the freezer for all the holiday goodies I’ll be baking.  Amid all the activities, travel and shopping going on, one really shouldn’t forget about family safety during the holidays.

There are a few items you may want to put on your holiday wish list that deal with family safety.

If you’re looking for a delicious spot to stop and eat in a couple of locations in the DFW area, I want to let you in on some of the first locations of Modmarket to open in Texas. These fast casual Farm Fresh Eateries are worth checking out.

When we moved to the Dallas area in 2013, I had a group of friends already established.  They weren’t people I had already met ‘physically,’ they were just women (and a guy!) that I had interacted with and got to know online.  They were the ‘friends that lived in my computer,’ and they totally ‘got’ me…because they were all bloggers too.

I don’t have a lot of time to read blogs any more like I used to, but when I do, these are most of the ones I frequent these days.  They are full of resources and stories and we make up a community like no other we Texans! 

My desk is covered in papers.  Receipts, note paper, invoices… they’re never ending.  I’m sure most small business owners can sympathize with me there.  My organizational system usually boils down to stacking it in a neat pile and pushing it aside to deal with when the bills need to be paid, or when I need to find something for a report.  So I was not opposed to trying out SmartSoft Invoices which automates invoice processing from beginning to end with software.

You know with the holidays approaching quickly food is on my mind (well okay, food is always on my mind, but at this time of the year even more so!).  I’m thinking about what I’m planning to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My birthday is coming up, and then sometimes we’re so busy I just don’t want to cook, and so on those occasions I’m thinking about where we’ll be eating out.  But there are too many people that don’t have the luxury to think of either of those things.  They are just concerned about where and how their family will get their next meal.  That is why I am pleased to partner with TangoTab for today’s post.